Testimony

Pastor’s Testimony

I would like to take this time to share with you about myself so that you can get to know me. I happen to be completely blind. I was born prematurely and received too much oxygen in the incubator. My parents were told when I was two years of age that I would be completely blind by the time I was three. Fortunately for me, though I lost my sight in my right eye, I retained partial sight in my left eye. When I was twenty three years old, six months after I was married, I had a massive hemorrhage in my eye and went completely blind.

For the first eight years of school I went to a school for the blind. Since I had partial sight I had some advantage over those who were completely blind. I was very happy and had a lot of friends. But when 9th grade came, I was sent to a regular high school to teach me to adjust to a sighted world. My life took a change, I went from being Mr. Popular to being teased, had my head pushed into books and had no friends. Needless to say, I did not feel that anyone loved me or even cared about me. I didn’t even realize that Jesus cared about me. Though I went to church every Sunday, I was only taught to know about Jesus, I had never come to the place where I had received him as my personal Savior and Friend.

One day I went home and determined I was never going to go back to school. I thought about taking my life but decided that I was going to run away from home. While I was waiting for my parents to fall asleep I turned on the TV and Billy Graham was preaching on that channel. For the first time in my life I heard the gospel. First he said I was a sinner, Romans 3:23, “for all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.” Then he spoke about Romans 6:23 "For the wages of sin is death.” But then he said something that changed my life forever, though I knew I was a sinner and deserved judgement, Billy Graham said that Christ loved me and had died for me. Romans 5:8,” For God has demonstrated His love for us, for while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us,” I didn’t think that anyone cared about me, but Christ loved me enough to take the punishment for my sins on the cross. I knelt by the side of the bed and received Christ into my heart as my personal Savior.

When I went back to school the next day I was still teased, but I was not alone. Christ went with me as my Friend. I graduated from High School four years later with perfect attendance. Though I had partial sight I was on the Track Team and Gym Team and made the honor roll all four years. Christ made all the difference in my life. If you are alone and think that none cares about you, Christ does, and He can make all the difference in your life as well if you will trust Him as your Lord and Savior.